


From Here on Out

by spobylol



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F, First Love, Kinda AU, Post-7x10
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-19 02:19:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8185282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spobylol/pseuds/spobylol
Summary: After sharing an unexpected kiss, Emily and Alison must deal with and navigate through the uncharted territory of their complex relationship.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going forward from Emily and Alison's kiss in 7x10, but we're going to ignore all the other mystery-related drama that surrounded it. And also, Alison is NOT pregnant in this story, and she never made that confession (this is a bit AU).

"I got you another glass of wine."

Alison smiles up at her, accepting the glass from Emily's hands. She takes a sip of it while Emily takes a seat next to her. Alison doesn't really know what to do in this position. She and Emily have been hanging around each other quite a bit since they kissed that night, but they never talk about it. Alison  _wants_ to kiss her again right now. It feels like what she would do if they were in a relationship. But they aren't... 

There's still so much to talk about. 

"Thanks."

Emily sets her own wine glass on the table in front of her, and then scoots closer to Alison. Her lips curl into a tiny smile as she gazes at the blonde. Alison can't help but blush a little bit. She sets her wine glass on the table as well.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" she asks.

Emily shrugs her shoulders.

And then Alison does what they've both been wanting to do again for a while now.

She leans in and gently kisses Emily's lips. This time, Emily doesn't even hesitate. Emily opens her mouth into it, feeling comfortable. She doesn't doubt that Alison actually feels something for her anymore. She's still around after all this time. She's still sticking around to see what's between them.

They've gotten really close over the past two weeks. They never discussed anything about what could be between them, but they both have been aware that there definitely is something there. 

And Emily wants to talk about it. She knows exactly how she feels about Alison, and she just needs to get an understanding of how Alison's feeling about this thing between them before they can try and figure out what to do. God, it's so new... they've kissed before (hell, they've even hooked up once), but they've never been in a position where a  _relationship_ can come out of it.

"Ali," she says, sighing as she pulls back. She cups Alison's cheeks sweetly. 

"What is it?" 

Emily's never been good at being upfront about her feelings for people. She usually likes to let _them_ come to  _her_ , not the other way around. She takes her hands off of Alison's cheeks and reaches for her hands instead, closely watching how the blonde reacts. And luckily, Alison reacts well. In fact, she squeezes Emily's hands back, looking at her with complete attention. 

"I hate to be the one to make things complicated, but... uh," Emily scratches her head. "What are we doing? You know... what does any of this mean?"

Alison presses her lips together. She lets go of Emily's hands, surprising the dark-haired girl. Emily grows fearful. This isn't going the way that she hoped it would go.

"I don't know," Alison confesses honestly. This is even harder for her. Everyone thinks she's straight. And it's no lie that she's had feelings for guys—hell, she _married_ one. But she knows that what she feels for Emily isn't a friendly thing. She sighs, "Look, Em... I've been trying to go slow with this because I'm confused, and you're confused, and this whole thing is just..."

"Confusing?" Emily finishes.

"Yeah," she laughs, nodding her head. "Maybe I don't know what this is right now, but I do know what I _want_ it to be. And that does not include going slowly..."

Emily bites her lip.

"I've wanted this... for a long time," Emily confesses.

"So have I, Em. I promise you that. I just didn't think you'd ever trust me again after all the negative history between us," Alison explains. "Truth is, I'm scared about how people will react, and... my dad... God, he's gonna hate me."

"Hey, he won't hate you," Emily comforts, putting her hands back on Alison's cheeks. "You're his daughter, Ali."

"Well, I don't want to fight with him anymore. I've done so much of that already," she sighs, but shakes her head. "But I'd do it because you're worth it."

"We don't have to jump in and tell everybody about us already," Emily reminds her. "Sometimes telling people can ruin a good thing, you know?"

"You would be okay with that?" Alison asks.

Emily nods her head.

"Of course," she answers. "There's nothing wrong with keeping to ourselves... at least until we sort everything out. People can be pretty judgmental, and we don't need that clouding up our own judgments."

Alison smiles.

"I wouldn't mind keeping to ourselves," she says. "But only for a bit, because I've made that mistake with you before. I want to move forwards, not backwards. So, this is temporary."

Emily bites her lip suggestively.

"And you know, nobody said we have to move slow just because we're not telling people about us..."

Alison laughs through her nose breathily, and then leans forward. Her lips meet Emily's for a warm kiss. She runs her fingers into Emily's dark locks of hair, deepening the pressure against their lips. Emily slowly starts dominating, hovering herself on top of Alison. Soon enough, Alison is laying against the surface of the couch, and Emily is completely on top of her. Their lips don't separate as Alison starts to push Emily's flannel off of her shoulders, and lets it fall off. When she starts to grip the hem of Emily's tank top, that's when Emily pulls back for a moment.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

Alison nods her head, and inevitably, a smile forms on her face. The both of them laugh in sync before Emily leans back in and closes the distance between their mouths. 


	2. Chapter 2

For the next week, Alison spends practically all of her time with Emily. Sometimes they stay over at the loft, and other times they stay over at Alison's house. They've found a nice balance. It's finally easy with them. They're both happier than they've been in a long time. Emily never realized how great it is to be in a relationship with her best friend. They know each other inside and out. They stay up having long talks, watching TV or movies together, cuddling, kissing, and sometimes even more than just kissing. 

One Sunday morning, Emily is in the kitchen of Alison's house. She's pouring herself a quick cup of orange juice, since she's about to go on a morning jog. Alison's still sleeping upstairs, and Emily didn't want to wake her up. She's in a pretty deep sleep... she would've felt criminal to wake her up on a weekend.

Before she can bring the cup of orange juice up to her lips, her phone loudly starts ringing. She looks at the ID. It's from Rosewood High School.

Quickly and nervously, she answers it. It must be about the job.

"Hi!" she answers, almost too eagerly. "Good morning, Principal Hackett."

_"Good morning to you, too Emily. You seem happy."_

"Yeah, things are going pretty well for me right now."

_"Oh, really? That's good. I just think I can make things even better for you by letting you know that we'd like to offer you the job of head coach for the Rosewood Sharks swim team. How does that sound?"_

A huge smile forms on Emily's face.  _She got the freaking job_. This is an amazing start. She's always loved swimming, and it hurt her so much to have to quit. Now, she can reconnect with it in some way. Plus, she's finally got a better paying job than being a barista. And best of all? She gets to work alongside Alison. She's not sure how distracting that's going to be, but it sure as hell sounds fun to go to work with her everyday. They'll get to spend so much time together. She won't have to be working at the Radley late while Alison works throughout the day.

"Oh my God! That's fantastic! Thank you so much for letting me know, Principal Hackett. This is really, really amazing."

_"I'm glad you're excited. You won't have any problem coming in on Monday to lead the swim team tryouts, will you?"_

"Not at all! I'm thrilled to!"

_"Great! I've actually got some more news for you, but this is not mandatory... We're short on gym teachers after Mr. Hertz quit, and with your athletic history, we think you'd be more than qualified to take over his periods of gym class."_

"Wow... thank you so much, sir. I don't even know what to say."

_"How about 'yes' for starters?"_

Emily laughs quietly.

"Well, yes, yes... of course it's a yes."

_"Then I'll see you first thing on Monday morning, Miss Fields. You won't have to start on teaching the gym classes right away. We'll prepare you through a few training sessions. The other gym teachers will gladly guide you. Then whenever you're ready, you can take complete control. And of course, you've always got full control of your swim team."_

"See you Monday morning, sir. I can't wait. Bye."

Emily can't stop smiling when she hangs up the phone. She can't wait to share her news with Alison. Now she gets to teach a gym class, which means that she'll be there with Alison throughout the entire school day, and not just after school.

"Ali!" she exclaims loudly and cheerfully, running upstairs and completely forgetting about the fact that Alison is deeply asleep.

The blonde's eyes shoot open, looking entirely thrown off by Emily's loudness.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!" Emily says. Her eyes widen, and she covers her mouth to shut herself up.

Alison calms herself down after a few seconds, laughing quietly.

"No, it's okay..." she says groggily. "What has got you screaming so early in the morning?"

Emily starts grinning again like a fool.

"Well, I was downstairs, and I was about to go on a jog, but then Principal Hackett called me and told me that I got the job as the swim team coach!" Emily informs her excitedly. "And he even offered me the position as a gym teacher. I get to take over Mr. Hertz's class!"

"Damn... Mr. Hertz got a real upgrade, then," Alison jokes. She sits up on the bed, "Em, I'm so proud of you. And I can't believe that we're going to be working together at Rosewood High."

"Yeah, who thought we'd  _both_ end up back there, right?" Emily laughs, and joins her on the bed.

"Come here..." Alison says quietly, and pecks Emily's lips. "So, are we going to work together on Monday?"

"We are," Emily laughs.

"How am I going to get any papers graded when you're strutting around the hallways, intentionally trying to look sexy in the Rosewood Sharks jacket?" Alison playfully pouts.

"A little distraction can be... good," Emily whispers. "Don't you think so?"

"I'm more of a visual learner," Alison whispers back.

Their lips are brushing against each other's teasingly for a few seconds before Emily pushes forward and seals the distance. Alison's hands fly to her cheeks, and quickly progress into her hair. She runs her hands through her soft hair.

* * *

 

Monday is an exciting day for the both of them. They're both awake by 6 AM, and sleepily get ready for work. Emily's a lot more nervous, since it's her first day on the job. But Alison tries to calm her down. By the time Emily comes downstairs, Alison has already poured her a fresh cup of coffee and made her a plate of scrambled eggs. Emily can't help but smile when she sees the breakfast laid out for her on the table. The first thing she does is walk over to the kitchen table and peck the blonde's lips.

"This is really sweet... I don't know what to say," Emily bites her lips.

Alison laughs through her nose quietly.

"Well, you don't have to _say_ anything. You can just eat your breakfast," she smiles. "You shouldn't be going to work on an empty stomach."

"I could get used to waking up to this life everyday..." Emily mumbles under her breath, but Alison hears it.

When she hears it, her smile fades. She realizes how serious this is. Maybe Emily didn't mean for it to be taken so seriously, but the reality of the situation is that it really is that serious. They haven't made anything official. They haven't even decided if they'll call each other "girlfriend" yet, and they sure as hell haven't had any talks about moving in together. Nonetheless, they act like it. They act like they're a couple. They practically live together, whether they're staying at Emily's loft or Alison's house. In the past few weeks, there hasn't been a night where they didn't stay over at each other's place. They kiss each other. They hold hands. They talk. They apparently now cook breakfast for each other. 

But the smile reappears on her face when she realizes how badly she  _wants_ all of that. It may take some courage to tell everybody how she feels, but she's sure of the way she feels about Emily. She doesn't think she's ever been this happy in her life before. She feels like something settled in her life that made her content with everything. She's not sure if it's the honeymoon phase of this new relationship, the fact that she's finally got something that she's wanted for so long, or the fact that she's pretty sure that what she feels for this girl is nothing less than pure love. Or maybe it's all of the above.

She reaches across the kitchen table and takes Emily's hand, gently squeezing it. Emily stops eating her breakfast and looks over at Alison, slightly confused.

"What is it?" Emily asks.

"Nothing," Alison smiles. "I'm just really, really happy."

"Me too," Emily smiles back.

"Don't be nervous about your first day. I know first day jitters are a thing, but you honestly have nothing to be worried about. I promise," Alison tells her.

Little does Alison know,  _she's_ the one who's going to be worried about Emily's new job.


	3. Chapter 3

"And I expect to see  _you_ in my classroom during lunch. Can I count on you keeping that promise?"

Emily smiles, nodding her head.

"I'm looking forward to it. You better teach me something good... show me how good you are at your job," she flirts, running her hand down Alison's arm slowly.

"Come on, let's go. You don't want to be late for your very first day on the job, do you?" Alison raises her eyebrows. "Plus, you're tempting me too much right now... I don't think that I can wait until lunch to see you again."

Emily leans in and pecks Alison's lips chastely.

"I hope you have a wonderful first day," Alison tells her afterwards.

The girls smile at each other before exiting the car through their respective doors. They walk towards the high school together. Alison already promised to walk her down to Hackett's office, and she does just that. The blonde smiles at Emily sweetly.

"Good luck. I know you're going to be amazing," Alison says.

She offers Emily a tiny wave before beginning to walk away towards her English classroom.

Emily feels good about the job as she walks inside of Principal Hackett's office. When she enters, she sees Principal Hackett intently typing on his computer. Upon hearing the door opening, he turns to look at her. He smiles when he recognizes who it is.

"Miss Fields!" he exclaims, turning his computer off. "Glad you're here. Very punctual. I'm notably impressed."

"Well, I didn't want to be late for my first day on the job," she shrugs. "It's good to see you, sir."

"We're glad to have one of our own back here to inspire the next generation. The students will definitely be taking a lot away from the skills you have. You have a lot to offer them," Hackett tells her. 

"So, how can I get started?" she asks.

"You'll be taking over the first period gym class for Hertz, so we'll have you in the gym to meet your new students at 8:00 AM each morning. You'll have three other classes during the day, and then after school, you'll be coaching the varsity swim team," he explains.

Emily nods her head. It sounds intimidating, but it sounds exciting at the same time.

"And don't worry, you won't have to do everything by yourself! I know how high school students can be, especially with gym teachers. They don't always respect the class, especially when there's a new teacher or a sub," Hackett sighs. "But you've got yourself a little sidekick... one of your old friends from high school, I believe! She was trying for the varsity coaching position, too, but I ultimately decided to give you the spot. However, I did offer her the position of assistant coach for the team."

Emily furrows her eyebrows.

"You do know who I'm talking about, right?" Hackett asks. "Paige McCullers? Were you two not good friends back in high school?"

She presses her lips together. She had forgotten all about Paige during the last few weeks.

"Yeah, I knew her. That's wonderful. It'll be good to have a familiar face around me," Emily nods her head.

"You know, your old friend Alison DiLaurentis is teaching here, too? She's an English teacher, actually. I never thought that this is where she'd end up," Hackett tells her.

Emily fights the urge to laugh. He doesn't have a clue.

"Oh, yeah, I know she's teaching here. We're actually still really close," she tells him.

"That's wonderful! People who say high school friendships never last are clearly wrong," Hackett chuckles. "Well, anyways... You can head down to the Sharks Gym. You remember where it is, right?"

Emily nods her head.

"I could never forget it."

* * *

She takes slow steps towards the Sharks Gym. Paige is probably already there, and it's going to be weird. They haven't talked in a while... at least not since she and Alison began their "thing." She isn't sure if she should tell Paige about it, because she has a feeling that Paige may still be interested in her. And they're going to have to work together everyday now. She feels like she should be happy about it, but she's honestly just tense.

She enters the gym's locker room, progressing towards the office doors. She sighs as she unlocks them. When she enters, Paige disengages from whatever she's writing and rotates her chair. She smiles gleefully at Emily.

"Hi," Paige greets breathily, practically gazing.

Emily, who is still nervous, tries to look away and avoid it. She doesn't want this to be weird, but it already feels like it is.

"Hi..." she greets.

"Isn't this so cool?" Paige laughs. "After all this time, we end up working together... It's pretty awesome. I was stoked when Hackett offered me the assistant coach position. I knew we'd get to work together. I'm really excited to spend time with you again, Em."

Emily nods her head.

"Yeah, me too," she bites her lip. "So, how does this work? Are you here all day?"

Paige nods her head.

"At least for now," she answers. "I'll be working with you during your day classes for a little while so you have some support. It'll be better if we go in as a team. But once you figure out how to fly solo, I'll drop it. But, I'm always going to be here with you after school to coach the varsity swim team."

"That's great... really," Emily smiles.

"Yeah, yeah... it really is," Paige nods her head again. "Hackett even told me that if all goes well with the day classes, he could offer me a class period sometime next semester or next school year."

Paige rummages through a bag underneath the desk. She pulls out a jacket, and tosses it towards Emily.

"This is the official Rosewood Sharks Coach jacket. Our new uniform," Paige grins. "Isn't it pretty cool?"

Emily smiles, nodding. She admires the jacket for a moment, and then puts it on.

"I love it," Emily comments, running her hands down the material of the Sharks jacket.

Paige gets up from her seat and walks towards Emily.

"The crazy high schoolers are arriving in about ten minutes, so things are gonna get pretty hectic around here... but what do you say we go grab some drinks after swim tryouts today? A celebratory drink for the new jobs, right?" Paige offers. "It'll be on me, too!"

Emily swallows hard. She and Alison are going out for dinner afterwards.

"I kinda made plans already," Emily confesses. "I'm so sorry, Paige—"

"No, don't worry about it at all," Paige cuts her off. "Maybe another time? Tomorrow?"

"I'll see if I can sometime soon," Emily says, but she's more worried about how Alison's going to react to Paige being the assistant coach, and also how Alison will react if she goes out to have a drink with Paige... She's expecting both reactions to be pretty poor.

"What are your plans after work today?" Paige asks. "Got a date with Sabrina?"

Oh crap. Paige doesn't even know that she and Sabrina ended things... 

"No, um... we, uh, we broke up," Emily responds. "I'm just going out to dinner with a close friend."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Paige cries. "I didn't know that you two broke up... I'm really sorry, Em. I wouldn't have brought up such a sore subject—"

"No, it's not a sore subject. We were never very serious, anyways. I'm okay, I promise," Emily explains. "It was a while ago, too."

"Wow, we really have a lot to catch up on," Paige frowns. "You've kinda cut me off lately. We haven't talked in a while. I mean, I've missed all of this. I would've been there for you during your break up, you know."

"That's sweet, but it's okay," Emily shrugs.

"I know it's okay... and I know I don't _have_ to do anything, but that's not the point," Paige says, tilting her head to the side. "I think it'd be great if we got some time together to catch up. You should let me take you out for a drink sometime, even if it's not tonight."

Emily isn't sure if she means it like it's a date, but she's too afraid to ask. She doesn't want to have to turn Paige down, especially when she can't tell her that she's with somebody else. One, she and Alison aren't telling people about their relationship. And two, it would literally  _crush_ Paige to find out that the other person in her life is Alison. Paige was calm when Sabrina was the one in her life, but she blew up when she came over to drop off the job paperwork and found out that she and Alison were spending time together. She clearly hasn't forgiven Alison for what happened in high school.

"Yeah, maybe. I told you I'd check if I have free time—" Emily begins.

"What? You don't have just an hour to grab a quick drink with me and talk?" Paige asks, furrowing her eyebrows. "Em, I'm feeling some kind of distance between us... it's like there's this big slab of ice between us. I would've understood if this was us just meeting again for the first time since we broke up, but I thought we were past that. We talked everything through. I thought we were on good terms."

"There's no distance," Emily quickly denies. "I've had a lot on my plate lately... there's been a ton of stuff going on, and I just don't have a lot of free time."

"Well, you need to vent your busy frustrations, and I'm a great listener. You know that," Paige smiles.

Emily swallows hard. She fakes a smile to make sure Paige doesn't get anymore offended. It's not that she's mad at Paige or anything... she just has no clue how to handle this situation. She doesn't want the bliss in her relationship to end, but she knows that Alison's the jealous type. And she also knows that Paige is going to be nothing less than pissed when she finds out who Emily's seeing. She just wants to find a way to handle this situation without making either of them angry, but it seems like it's too unlikely of an outcome.

Relationships have always blown up in Emily's face. And it feels different with Alison, but that doesn't change anything. Even when she feels that the relationship is better than anything she's ever had before, it always is too good to be true. Every good thing falls apart in her life.

 "We'll talk more about this later. The kids are going to be coming in any second now," Emily says, changing the subject and turning away.

* * *

Emily has a decent first class period. Some students are a little bit talkative and rude, but there are no major disruptions. She and Paige work decently together. It's not too tough. She times the kids while they go on their mile run, then she leads them back inside the gym to play basketball. She has free periods until lunch. She just sits in her office, either checking her phone or watching a TV show on the computer. Occasionally, Paige looks over at her, but she pretends to not notice. She wants to hold off on their interactions until she's had a chance to talk with Alison about it.

And as soon as the lunch bell rings, she heads right over to Alison's classroom. The last thing she wants is for their relationship to crash and burn because they weren't able to be honest with each other.

When she walks into the classroom, Alison puts down her red pen that she's grading an essay with, and looks up. As soon as she realizes that it's Emily, a huge smile forms on her face.

"Looks like you know how to keep promises, huh?" she jokes, getting up from her desk.

She starts walking towards Emily. It's more like a seductive strut. Emily wants to give in and just enjoy the free time she has, especially due to the happiness on Alison's face. She doesn't want to ruin the mood by talking about Paige.

When Alison reaches her, she shuts the door and locks it.

"What if one of your students has a question to ask you?" Emily asks.

"I told them that I'm not available at lunch today. They'll have to come after school to talk to me," Alison smirks. "No objections, Em. Ever since you told me that you got the job, I've been thinking about how much fun working with you is going to be. So, I think we deserve some of those benefits of working together, don't you think?"

Emily doesn't object now. She kisses back when Alison props onto her tiptoes and kisses her. She places her hands on Alison's back. She tries to reciprocate the heat that's coming from Alison, but the whole Paige situation is really bothering her. She doesn't know if she can keep doing this without telling her everything. She knows that she hasn't done anything wrong, but she wants their relationship to be open and trusting. And it doesn't feel trusting to not tell her about this.

But Alison stops it even before she can.

"Are you okay?" the blonde asks, raising her eyebrows after pulling back.

Emily stares at the floor with her signature worried face. Alison tilts her head to the side.

"Em, you can talk to me..." she coaxes, reaching over to caress Emily's arm.

Emily nods her head.

"Yeah, I... I just couldn't keep going without telling you that..." she scratches her head. "Look, I just really want this thing between us to stay as good as it is now, and I think the only way to keep it this strong is to be honest with each other all the time."

"I completely agree. Secrets are what have come between us the most in the past. I don't want for that to happen, either, so you can be honest with me," Alison says.

"I didn't do anything, but... it just feels right to let you know that Paige is the coaching assistant," Emily confesses. The blonde raises her eyebrows in reaction. "I know, it's kinda weird... Hackett offered her the assistant position. She's assisting me with the classes I'm teaching, as well as with coaching the swim team, so we're going to have to spend a lot of time together, and I just thought that it would be best if you heard it from me."

"You and Paige are going to be working together... wow," Alison says, blinking several times to process it.

There's no distinct emotion on her face, but Emily can tell that she's really processing it. She can tell that she's not feeling too good about it.

"Ali, you can tell me if you're not okay with us working together," Emily bites her lip.

"No, no... I'm not going to be  _that_ person," she shakes her head. "There's no reason for me to not be okay with this, right? I mean, I don't like that she's your assistant, but there's nothing I can do."

Emily sighs.

"I just... I don't want this to drive a wedge between us, you know?" Emily asks, squeezing Alison's arm gently. 

"It won't," Alison smiles, turning her head to gaze right at Emily. "I trust you, Em. Completely."

Emily smiles back.

"Good. I'm glad."

Alison's about ready to lean back in, but Emily refrains.

"Wait, one last thing about this," Emily bites her lip again. "She wants to have drinks with me."

"Like a date?" Alison asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I don't know," she shrugs. "She says she wants to catch up. She found out that Sabrina and I broke up, so I don't really know what her intentions are."

"Well, I'm guessing they're not very platonic," Alison remarks bitterly, folding her arms.

"I had a feeling that you aren't okay with this situation," Emily sighs.

"I told you that I trust you," Alison reminds.

"Then trust me, I  _believe_ you," she says. "But I don't think you trust Paige."

"Well, why should I?" Alison asks, raising her eyebrows. "Em, she's your ex-girlfriend. You guys have reconnected as friends. She thinks you're single. I wouldn't be surprised if she has feelings for you again."

Emily presses her lips together. She knows that Alison's right.

"It's just drinks," Emily assures her.

"You said yes?" Alison asks, feeling slightly offended.

"No, I said nothing. I said maybe," she answers. "Ali, come on! I thought that we weren't going to let this drive a wedge between us."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Alison sighs. "This thing is just... kinda new for me, you know? The whole idea of us? I can't help but feel a little jealous."

"Well, you have nothing to be jealous of!" Emily cries, cupping the blonde's cheeks. "You're the one I want to be with. Not her."

Alison starts smiling again. She feels a lot less threatened by Paige now.

"I guess there's no problem with you two getting drinks together, then," she gives in, but is still afraid that she'll regret it later. " _But_ , those drinks better not be happening tonight. We have plans, remember?"

"Of course not tonight," Emily laughs. "I already told her that if we are hanging out, it won't be tonight."

"Good, because I'm looking forward to taking you out tonight," Alison laughs back. She reaches for Emily's shoulders and rubs them gently. "We'll have a nice dinner, and you can tell me all about how your first day went."

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

"Hanna's getting pretty suspicious, you know."

Alison looks over at Emily, who's walking towards the table with a cup of coffee in her hands. 

"What do you mean?" the blonde asks. "I thought she was staying with Caleb."

Emily sighs and sits down across from her at the table.

"Yeah, well, apparently she came back to Lucas's loft on the weekend... I think Caleb's up in New York for a job interview, so she's not staying at the Radley with him while he's gone," Emily explains. "She texted me multiple times to ask me why I'm not there."

Alison bites her lip. She feels like this conversation is about to go to the topic of whether they should start telling people about their relationship or not. She doesn't know if she's ready for that. People will have so many questions about her sexuality, and she doesn't even know where she stands. 

"Did you answer?" she asks.

Emily shakes her head.

"I've been avoiding her texts, but I can't keep doing that forever," Emily says, taking another deep breath before bringing the coffee mug up to her lips. 

"Just tell her that you've been crashing at my place. She won't think much of it, I hope," Alison suggests.

Emily sighs.

"Are we ever going to tell her? It'd be so much easier than just  _lying_ to everybody I care about," she says.

And there it is: the topic that Alison didn't want to talk about. She can't blame Emily, though. They can't keep hiding their relationship forever, right? 

"I told you that this is temporary..."

"I know you told me that, but how long is temporary, Ali?" she asks, looking at the other girl with concern on her face. She tilts her head to the side and reaches across the table to take Alison's hand. "Look Ali, I'm sure about you. And I know the thought of telling people about us is scary, but I promise that I'm going to be right there with you the entire time. Think about how good it'll be..."

Alison does think about it. They can go out on real dates, hold each other's hand in public,  _kiss_ in public, and best of all: they won't have to keep on lying to their friends and family. It definitely would take a weight off their chests, but only  _if_ all goes well with telling people.

"Sometimes telling people can ruin a good thing, you know?" Alison sighs.

"There's nothing that anybody could say that could make me change how I feel about you," Emily shakes her head.

"You say that now, but when they start bringing up everything I did to you—" 

"It doesn't  _matter_ if they bring anything up, Ali. We've both done questionable things to each other, and I think we're both past it. I know that I've forgiven you for what happened in the past. They can't say anything to change that," Emily says.

Alison presses her lips together. It still feels too scary to tell people.

"Okay, we don't have to do this right now," Emily assures her. "I just wanted you to think about it. This doesn't have to happen today."

Alison nods her head and says, "I'm sorry that I'm making this hard on you... I'm really just not ready right now. But I promise, I'll find a way to make it happen, okay?"

"Okay," Emily smiles. 

"Finish up that coffee quickly," she laughs. "We've gotta get going to work already."

* * *

After getting out of the car, the two girls walk together, side-by-side, towards the high school.

"So, I've gotta make a decision about the cuts by Friday..." Emily sighs. "It's really hard to make that kind of a decision. You should've seen their faces! I can tell that they all want to make it onto varsity so badly, and that they're all so passionate and ambitious about swimming. It's breaking my heart to cut any of them."

"They'll still be on JV if they don't make varsity," Alison reminds her.

"Well, I have to cut some people entirely, too," Emily frowns. "I don't want to break their hearts."

"Em, you can't make everybody happy..."

"I know, I know... I just wish there were some way to let them all have what they want," she sighs.

Alison stops them right in front of the school. She turns to face Emily, and tilts her head to the side. A small smile forms on her face. It's clearly a proud smile. She tucks a strand of Emily's hair behind her ear.

"What did I do to deserve somebody with such a big heart like you?" she asks.

Emily blushes, biting her lip and staring at the floor.

"Ali..." she mutters quietly. "We're right in front of the school, you know that? One of your students could walk by."

Alison sighs, "Yeah, I know. I just can't help it sometimes."

They continue walking together.

"For the record, I still wonder what I did to have somebody like you, too," Emily says once they reach Alison's classroom.

Alison laughs quietly.

"God, Em... you don't know how badly I wish that we weren't at school right now," the blonde shakes her head.

"Well, you won't have to wait much longer for some alone time," Emily chuckles. "You better tell your students that Ms. DiLaurentis is not available at lunch today, either, because she has a meeting with the swim coach."

She laughs again.

"I'm really looking forward to lunch now. I'll see you then," she says, having to bite her lip afterwards to stop herself from smiling like a complete fool.

Emily waves at her and is about to start walking towards the gym. Alison turns around to get one last look at her, still feeling completely blissful from the conversation they just had. But when she turns around, her smile fades. Paige just walked up to her, and they started talking. Alison sighs. She tries to not let it make her lose her control. She knows that she trusts Emily. They're just friends, and they're nothing more than that.

* * *

"Hello, Ms. DiLaurentis... I was being very bad today, and I unfortunately received a detention. So, Principal Hackett is counting on you to  _discipline_ me."

Alison looks up from her desk. She presses her lips together, causing her cheeks to puff up as she holds back her laughter. Emily tilts her head to the side with a smirk on her face, and kicks the classroom door shut. She takes gradual steps towards Alison's desk.

"Actually, detentions are usually served in Mr. Gardner's class, unless I—"

"Don't kill the moment and just shut up," she says in a low voice, taking much quicker steps towards the desk now.

She leans her body all the way over the desk to kiss Alison. Her tongue grazes against Alison's bottom lip before sinking into her mouth. Her hands slide up from the bottom of Alison's face towards her cheeks. 

"C'mere," she whispers, separating their lips.

Alison lowers her head, tilting it downwards so that their noses are touching instead. A small smile, almost like a seductive smirk, forms on the edge of her lips. She stands up from her seat and walks around the desk. She presses herself against Emily, propping herself onto her tip-toes so that she can reconnect their lips. Emily's hands settle onto Alison's shoulders firmly, but gradually slide downwards until they reach her hips. Her hands trace a circular pattern, going from her hips to her ass. She finally chooses one firm position. She helps Alison prop onto the desk so she's sitting on top of it with her legs wrapped around Emily's hips. They separate their lips again while Emily removes her Sharks jacket. Alison watches carefully, licking her lips and using her piercing blue eyes to gaze at the tanned girl in front of her.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Alison compliments in a whisper, tilting her head to the side.

Emily bashfully blushes. She loses all her focus on the "roleplay" they were doing, and finds herself completely melted. She caresses Alison's cheeks tenderly, gazing into her beautiful blue eyes with all the sincerity inside of her. They both smile at each other before Alison decides to lean back in and start kissing her again. She places her hands on the newly-exposed skin of Emily's arms from her discarded jacket. She's left in the white tank top that she was wearing underneath the jacket. Alison moves her kisses from Emily's lips, and starts working on her sharp jawline, trailing a series of kisses down it. She keeps going, doing the same to her neck, and then moving right towards one of her shoulders. She traces circles on Emily's shoulder with one of her hands and kisses it simultaneously, toying with the strap of the white tank top.

"Mmm,  _Ali_..." Emily mumbles in a low voice. She grips Alison's thigh and squeezes it to keep her composure so she doesn't combust from what she's feeling right now. 

She's so indulged... she's completely lost herself. Her eyes are shut, and she just stands there, enjoying the feeling that Alison brings to her body when she touches her skin like that. Her body is on fire.

 Alison brings her head back up from Emily's shoulder. She tilts her head to the side and leans in again. Their lips touch gently at first, but soon, it becomes much deeper. 

_CREAK._

Startled by the noise, Emily's eyes burst open, and she retreats herself entirely from Alison. The two of them lose hold of each other. Emily turns around in an instant. Her mouth opens just a crack when she sees who it is...  _Paige_. Her lip quivers as she tries to figure out how to explain this. There really is no way to explain it. It's exactly the way it looks. All she knows for sure is that Paige is  _not_ going to be happy, and it's already evident from the exasperated look on the short-haired girl's face. Her exasperation soon turns to a look of irritation, more as if she's just been betrayed. None of them say anything.

Alison looks away in embarrassment. It's certainly not her finest moment to be caught being so  _unprofessional_ , but a part of her is just a tad bit satisfied. She knows it's wrong to think that way, but that's how she feels. Paige got a sight of her literally marking her territory. She knows it probably stings for the other girl to see such a thing, and maybe that's what makes it all-the-more satisfying to Alison. She knows Paige hates it. She knows it's killing her, at least a little bit.

"Paige..." Emily finally speaks up, but isn't exactly sure what to say now that she's starting speaking. She scratches her head, trying to formulate the words. 

"A little unprofessional for a workplace, don't you think?" Paige hisses bitterly.

Emily presses her lips together. She's not exactly wrong, is she? 

"I don't know why I'm still standing here. It's  _your_ business. But you might want to be a little more careful... your door was unlocked. If that were a student, or any of the administration, you'd be fired by now. You're  _lucky_ that it was me," Paige says, and walks out of the classroom.

Emily turns her head back around and shoots Alison an apologetic look. Alison sighs.

" _Go_ ," she urges, giving in. "I'll wait for you to come back, and we can do something at least a little more appropriate. Like, eating our lunches?"

"Thank you, Ali," Emily smiles. She reaches over and squeezes Alison's hand briefly before rushing out of the classroom to follow Paige.

She looks both ways, trying to find out which direction she's gone. She sees the short-haired girl in her Sharks jacket not too far away, heading left in the hallway. She picks up the pace, taking speedier steps to catch up to her.

"Hey!" she calls out. "Paige,  _wait_! Wait up!"

Paige gives in. She stops storming away, and slowly turns around to face Emily.

"What do you want, Emily?" she demands.

"Why are you  _mad_?" Emily asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Why am I  _mad_?" Paige mocks, raising her eyebrows in response. "You know what she did to me. You know what she did to  _so_ many people at this school—"

"What she did in high school doesn't define who she is now, Paige," Emily tries.

"Did you come here just to justify this to me? To tell me that she's a great, changed person when we both know that she's not?" Paige spits. "Because I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear any lame excuses about it. You always defended her from the start, and maybe I should've seen it coming a long time ago. I just—I'd hate to see you get hurt. You know what she's capable of."

 "It's not like that, I promise," Emily sighs.

"Okay, well it's your relationship. I don't know what it's like between you two. But what I _do_ know is that she has relentlessly hurt people in the past, including me," Paige shakes her head. "If that's the type of girl you want to be with—a _straight_ girl, in fact—then don't say I didn't warn you when you get your heart broken."

Emily defends, "She's not doing this for fun... I don't think she's straight. What would she get out of it?"

"Your affection. She wins, I lose, right?" Paige rolls her eyes. "It's always a game with her."

Emily stays silent now.

"Yeah, I bet you have nothing to say because it's true," she continues. "She thought that I still had feelings for you... because I do. You know that I do, right? That I never stopped loving you? And I was holding on to some type of hope because I thought that you felt the same way about me. You made it seem like you wanted exactly what I wanted for a long time. Then, you suddenly started getting close to her again right when we started getting close. And then what? You fell into her manipulative trap for the millionth time?  _God_! When are you going to wake up and stop falling for it?"

Emily has to ignore her startling confession of love. Following her out here was a bad idea.

"Paige... look... I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about us... I promise you, I was trying to find the right way and the right time to do it," Emily sighs.

"Honestly, Emily, the fact that you didn't tell me isn't the problem. The fact that she's the one you're with is the problem."

"I can't... _change_ how I feel about her," Emily mumbles out.

 "I came back here for you," Paige confesses. "I came back into town because I wanted to see you again. Because I still love you, and I never stopped. Does that mean nothing to you, Em?"

"It's not the right timing... I'm with her—" Emily starts.

"So what is it? You don't feel the same way about me?" Paige raises her eyebrows. "You stopped loving me? Because that's not what it felt like when we were talking on the phone all night, or when I came over to have drinks with you at the loft..."

"We broke up!" Emily cries.

Paige tilts her head to the side.

"That doesn't mean anything. Can you honestly tell me that you don't love me anymore?" Paige asks, folding her arms. "I still feel the connection between us, Em... and you're wasting your time with a straight girl who probably will never want to tell anybody about your relationship! She just wants to keep you close so that I can never have you again!"

"It really isn't like that," Emily shakes her head. She sighs. "Look, Paige... you'll always be important to me, okay? Always. You're a special part of my life, and I don't regret the time that we spent together. But that doesn't mean that I'm still in love with you!"

Paige swallows hard.

"I'll always love you... as a friend," Emily tells her. "And I know you'll never understand how I feel about Alison, but... but I hope you'll try to, because it's not a small deal for me. It's something really, really big... I'm so sorry that things didn't work out between us, but I'm not going to apologize for being in love with someone else."

Paige still looks mad, and Emily doesn't know how to change that. She doesn't want to keep arguing or trying to change her mind. It feels hopeless. Paige clearly will never be happy for them. But the more Emily thinks about it, the more she starts to realize how little it matters. What is the significance of her ex-girlfriend being happy for her new relationship? It's  _expected_ , even if Paige and Alison didn't have such a rocky history. They're  _exes_. Why the hell would Paige be happy for her, anyways? As long as Paige still has feelings for her, she would never truly be happy for her being in a new relationship.

"You can't be serious right now," Paige shakes her head.

"But I  _am_ ," Emily says confidently and boldly, suddenly feeling a lot better about the choices she's made. "I'm not sorry for the way I feel about her. I'm just sorry that you can't be happy for  _me_ being happy. Because that's what I am. I'm really happy right now. And I'm not going to keep on trying to change your mind. So, here it is: I give up."

Paige blinks a few times, staring at the floor of the empty Rosewood High School hallway.

"I'll see you next period," Paige flatly declares before walking away with the anger still all over her face.

Paige isn't okay with her dating—or whatever the hell they're doing—Alison. But that's  _okay_. Emily's okay with it. She brushes it off, and she starts walking back towards Alison's classroom. She slowly opens the door, giving the blonde a small smile.

"Hey," she greets.

"Hey..." Alison greets back, furrowing her eyebrows. "Are you okay? How did it go?"

"Well, she's obviously pissed, but... I realized something, Ali," Emily smiles widely now. She keeps walking towards Alison's desk, where the blonde is now eating a salad. 

Alison looks up with curiosity. "Yeah?"

"She doesn't have to be okay with it," Emily declares. "No one has to be okay with it, because  _I'm_ okay with it, and that's all that really matters. Why the hell should I care what she thinks about us? Or anyone, for that matter?"

"Where are you going with this?" Alison asks.

Emily shrugs her shoulders.

"It's just a realization," she responds. 

"You want to tell them about us?" Alison asks knowingly.

Emily raises her eyebrows, trying to play it off confused.

"Hanna, Aria, and Spencer... You want to tell them?"

Emily bites her lip. 

"I mean, well... it's always a possibility. They're like sisters... I think they'll be happier than  _Paige_ was at least, don't you think?"

"Em, I don't know..." Alison sighs.

"Look, I don't want to hide out anymore," Emily confesses. "I know I said I was okay with it, and I was for a while, but it's starting to get old. I'm so happy with you, Ali... you know that. I want everything with you."

"Can we enjoy the ten remaining minutes of lunch that we have together and talk about this when we get back to my place after school instead?" Alison suggests nervously.

"Okay, fine..." Emily gives in. "But I am not forgetting this conversation, Ali! We  _are_ talking about it when we get back to your place!"

"Fine, fine," Alison groans. "But for now, will you just sit down and tell me how your day was so far?"

Emily chuckles quietly, pulling a student's desk closer to Alison's desk and sitting down in it. 

"Sure, I can do that... but I'd like to hear about your day, first."

 


	5. Chapter 5

Alison unlocks the door and walks in with Emily following just slightly behind her. Once they're both inside, she shuts the door and turns around to face Emily, sighing quietly. They're about to have  _that_ conversation that she's been dreading. They're going to talk about their game plan for telling people about their relationship. And frankly, Alison's more than worried. It's more than just the fact she'll have to hear everybody's opinions about her... She and  _Emily_ haven't even talked about what they are, so telling other people about them doesn't make sense to her.

Emily's about to open her mouth, but her phone loudly starts buzzing. She shoots Alison an apologetic look, but the blonde just shrugs it off. 

"It's Hanna texting me," Emily tells her, and pulls her phone out of her back pocket. She furrows her eyebrows. "She says that she wants me to stop ignoring her, and that we need to hang out."

"Right now?" Alison furrows her eyebrows.

Emily sighs, nodding her head.

"Saved by Hanna, aren't you?" she jokes. "You should come, too. She told me that Aria and Spencer are coming, too."

"She didn't ask me to come, plus, I'm not really in the mood, to be honest," Alison tells her.

"Really? You don't want to hang out?" Emily asks.

"I'm tired," she shrugs her shoulders. "I think I'm just going to sleep for a bit, if that's okay with you."

"Okay... yeah, that's okay," Emily nods her head. She reaches over and squeezes Alison's arm gently. "Get the rest you need to. Can I come back over afterwards?"

"Of course," Alison smiles.

Emily smiles back, and leans in to peck the blonde's cheek. She keeps smiling as she walks backwards towards the door, but finally turns around to exit when she reaches it. Alison feels somewhat relieved. They can hold off on talking about it, at least for a little while longer.

* * *

" _Em_! I feel like it's been forever since we hung out!" Hanna cries, getting up from her table at the Radley to hug her friend. 

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been off shacking up with your boyfriend..." Emily jokes, scoffing quietly.

Hanna rolls her eyes playfully, and the two girls sit down at the table together.

"I know I've been AWOL, and I didn't mean to be, but we kind of just got lost in each other," Hanna smirks.

Emily makes a face of disgust.

"I'm not going to read too much into what you just said, but ew..." she says. 

"Come on, please! I want to tell you everything about it!" Hanna exclaims. "Don't you want to hear about my happiness?"

"Han, I'm glad that you're happy, but I'd rather not hear the details," Emily says honestly.

"No, it's just, Em... I'm so happy to be with him again. I love Caleb so much—" she starts, but her hand immediately flies to her mouth when she realizes that Spencer's right next to her. She shoots Spencer an apologetic look. "God, Spence... I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Spencer furrows her eyebrows.

"For talking about him... I didn't realize that you were already here, and I don't want to make things worse—" Hanna begins.

Spencer looks at her like she's crazy.

"And why would I care? I'm the one who told you to get back together with him," Spencer reminds her, and takes a seat. "Go ahead and talk about him. Just... don't be too graphic." 

Hanna smiles brightly.

"Well, I've been staying with him here for a little while now, and we've been spending a lot of quality time together," Hanna gushes. "And it was very disappointing to find out that he's going on a trip... Yeah, he's in New York right now for a job interview."

Emily analyzes Spencer's face. She really doesn't seem concerned.

"How are you not fazed at all?" Emily questions. "It's not like you guys broke up too long ago."

Spencer squints her eyes.

"What? Do you two  _want_ me to be upset about it? I thought you'd be happy that I don't care," Spencer says.

"I'm glad that you're okay, I just don't understand  _how_ you can be okay... that's all," Emily tells her. 

A small smug smile forms on Spencer's face, and the two girls immediately know that she's got more to tell.

" _Spill_ , Hastings!" Hanna urges, her mouth opening wide. "Who the hell are you banging right now?"

"No one!" Spencer exclaims, but the grin on her face says otherwise.

"Okay, she's lying, isn't she, Em?" Hanna asks, turning to look at the dark-haired girl, who nods in response.

Just then, Aria arrives at the table with furrowed eyebrows at the accusations flying around.

"Who's the liar?" Aria asks as she takes a seat next to Spencer.

" _Spencer_ ," Hanna responds. "The girl is totally screwing somebody right now, but she won't say who."

"Is it Detective Furey?" Aria guesses. "That Marco guy... I still remember that awkward kiss on the cheek, don't you?"

Emily laughs.

" _So_ awkward," she nods in agreement.

Spencer rolls her eyes.

"I'll admit, that was not my finest hour... but I'll tell you this: it's not Marco," Spencer responds.

"Well, you just confessed that you  _are_ sleeping with somebody," Hanna points out.

"Fine. I guess I am..." Spencer smirks.

 Emily, Hanna, and Aria glance at each other, trying to figure out who this mystery man could be. Suddenly, an idea comes to Emily. She furrows her eyebrows, and her mouth forms an o-shape. She looks over at Spencer, who furrows her eyebrows back. Emily concludes that if it isn't Marco, then  _maybe_ it's...

" _Toby_ ," she guesses, coming out a lot more excitedly than she expected it to. "It's got to be Toby, right?"

Hanna and Aria's mouths widen excitedly, looking over at Spencer for confirmation. The brunette's confidently smug smile turns into a bashful look. She scratches her head, and the girls figure that pretty much is a big fat yes. 

" _Spence_!" Hanna exclaims, clapping her hands together. "You two are back together?"

Spencer shrugs her shoulders.

"More or less... but we were trying to keep it on the down-low. I mean, at least until we figured out if we were really going to do this again. Because we've tried quite a few times, and it didn't work out. So, we wanted to make sure that we actually know what we want from each other... and if we were willing to try again," she explains herself. "So, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys—"

"No, we get it," Hanna says, smiling. "Well, I don't know about those two, but  _I_ get it. I'm so happy for you."

"Me too," Aria nods approvingly.

"So, was it the beard that pulled you back in?" Hanna jokes.

Spencer rolls her eyes, but can't help but smile at the comment.

"Well, I'm not complaining about it... it's a good look for him," she chuckles.

Emily presses her lips together as she analyzes the words that Spencer just said to her. She thinks about it hard—it parallels almost perfectly to her relationship with Alison. They sure are having a good time together, but they haven't decided anything. Emily knows that she wants to try to make it work for real, but wonders if taking her time like Spencer did is the right way to go. They could just enjoy the good thing they have between them without having other people try and cloud their judgment. They could keep on seeing where it goes, like they've been doing for a little bit now.

"And  _you_ , Em?" Aria suddenly asks, looking over at the girl, who had immensely quieted down in the past few minutes.

"Hmm?" Emily furrows her eyebrows, breaking out of her absentminded trail of thought.

"Well, the three of us are seeing people again... so, how's the love department going for you?" Aria chuckles.

Emily shrugs her shoulders.

"Still looking for that special someone?" Hanna asks sympathetically. "I know that you and Sabrina didn't work out, but isn't Paige back in town? As much as I wasn't a fan of  _that_ relationship, she  _is_ back."

Emily immediately shakes her head.

" _That_ is never going to happen," she responds.

"And why not?" Spencer asks curiously. "You guys had bad timing last time. You were going through something rough, and it just wasn't the right moment. But aren't things clearer now? I mean, I'm with Hanna, I was never a particular fan of that relationship, but you guys had some good moments together."

Emily looks away, shaking her head. She wants to tell them that she's actually  _not_ exactly single after all, but they'll interrogate her like they all did to Spencer. She and Alison haven't talked about telling people, so she can't just do it without consultation.

"I don't know. I just don't feel that way about her anymore, okay? Can we drop it?" Emily pleads. "I thought we were here to hang out again, not discuss our love lives."

"Hanging out includes discussing all the juicy details of our love lives, Em!" Hanna laughs.

"Yeah, well, I think we've talked enough about it, so can we talk about something else, please?" Emily asks.

Hanna sighs, nodding her head.

"Yeah, yeah, sure... How about  _where the hellllll have you been_?" Hanna demands, giving her friend a pouty face. "I didn't want to stay at the Radley alone while Caleb's gone, so I came back to Lucas's loft, and you weren't there. And when I texted you about it, you totally avoided the question!"

"No I didn't," Emily rolls her eyes. "I told you that I slept over at someone else's."

" _Slept_?" Aria winks.

Emily rolls her eyes again.

"Well, I was getting bored hanging out at the loft all by myself, so I spent a lot of time with Alison," Emily confesses, hoping that they won't think of it further than just two friends hanging out. "She was pretty bored, too, and she has a ton of spare rooms in that big house of hers, so I stayed over for a while."

"Oh, that's nice," Aria smiles. "Are you two reconnecting again? I feel like we don't talk that much anymore."

"Yeah," Emily smiles back. "We're pretty close again, to be honest."

"She should've come to eat out with us. Why didn't she?" Spencer asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

"We came back to her place after work when you guys texted, and she was beat. She wanted to rest," Emily explains.

" _Ohmygod_!" Hanna exclaims suddenly. "I totally forgot! You got the job at RHS! You're working with Ali now, right?"

Emily nods her head.

"Is it fun?" Aria asks, grinning. 

She nods her head again.

"It's pretty nice. I get to be around swimming again, and I can have lunch with Ali everyday," Emily says, biting her lip as she tries to stop herself from smiling like a fool. She just feels so genuinely happy when she thinks about how she gets to spend time with Alison frequently now.

"That sounds wonderful," Aria comments. "I'm glad that you finally found something that you enjoy."

Emily keeps smiling to herself as the waiter approaches their table. She can't wait to go back to Alison's place, as much as she's having fun hanging out with her friends.

* * *

 The door swings open, and Emily perks her head up. 

"Em. Hey," the blonde smiles.

"Hey," Emily smiles back.

Alison moves to the side so that Emily has space to walk inside. She shuts the door behind her, and then turns around to face Emily. She assumes that they're going to be having that talk that she's been dreading. But instead, she gets a pleasant surprise when Emily takes a few steps forward and kisses her instead. It's not a light kiss. It's deep and lustful, like she's spilling out everything that's been building up for so long. Emily opens her mouth hungrily into the kiss. Her hands start off on the sides of Alison's face, but quickly slide inwards and upwards, gliding her fingertips across Alison's scalp. Alison holds onto Emily's waist tightly.

Although she gets lost in it, she eventually finds the self-control to pull back. Her eyes flick upwards to look at Emily. 

"I thought you wanted to talk," Alison says, arching her eyebrows inwards.

Emily shakes her head.

"The only thing I want right now is you," she says in a bold whisper, with a surge of confidence rushing through her body. Her hands are still deeply rooted somewhere inside of Alison's hair.

Alison lets out a blissful breath through her nose, trying to fight the giant smile that's forming on her face. Luckily, she doesn't have to fight much longer, because Emily leans back in and starts kissing her again. Since it's quite clear where this is headed, Alison brings her hands up from Emily's waist and grips her shoulders, then sheds Emily's flannel for her. After it falls to the floor, they continue to walk backwards, but their lips don't leave each other's mouths. The kisses are fiery and passionate. She treads her lip across Alison's bottom lip before pushing it into her mouth. Soon enough, Emily has Alison pressed against a wall. She keeps combing her fingertips through Alison's hair. 

 Eventually, they find their way upstairs into Alison's master bedroom.

* * *

Alison pulls the sheets off of her body. She turns her head to the side and sees the sleeping beauty next to her. She has to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling too much. She turns back around and picks up Emily's oversized red-and-black flannel from the floor. She buttons it up about three-fourths of the way, slightly above her breasts. She combs her fingers through her messy blonde hair, pulling it out of the flannel and letting it fall loosely. She takes a quiet but deep breath before standing up from the bed. She begins walking downstairs, running her hands across the material of Emily's flannel, cherishing its softness, and the scent of Emily that's stuck to it. It smells just like her—so clean, like fresh shampoo and soap.

She walks into her kitchen, humming cheerfully and just letting the closed-mouth smile that she tried to hide overtake her face. She continues humming quietly as she opens the fridge, looking through it for something quick to eat. While she pulls a carton of milk out from the fridge, she feels warm hands wrapping around her waist. Immediately, she feels butterflies in her stomach, and is almost certain that she's blushing. The smile on her face widens. She shuts her eyes contently, and simply lets the taller girl hold her. 

Still holding her from behind, Emily leans down and places gentle kisses on the side of Alison's neck. 

"Good morning," Alison whispers, laughing quietly. 

The blonde finally turns around. She bites her lip when she locks eyes with a very content Emily, whose hands are still gripping her waist firmly. Alison props onto her tiptoes and connects their lips. She brings her hands up from Emily's shoulders to her cheeks. 

 After pulling back, Emily tilts her head to the side.

"Way to leave me all alone when I woke up..." she comments jokingly. "You weren't going to dash, were you?"

"Dash to  _where_ , exactly? Not that I would... but this is kinda my house," Alison rolls her eyes playfully, still smiling like a fool.

Emily flickers her eyes up and down Alison. Her heart races at the sight of Alison wearing her shirt.

"Well, you also left me without a shirt, you know," Emily bites her lip playfully. "I had to wear my  _tank top_."

"Do you have a problem with it?" she smirks.

"Not at all, actually," Emily smiles. She glances down again. A sparkle forms in her eyes as she presses her lips together to avoid smiling even more. She looks at Alison with complete purity and sincerity before quietly commenting, "You're so beautiful... you know that?"

"Stop it," Alison blushes, turning her head away, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm serious!" Emily cries, reaching over to grab Alison's hands. "You can't ask me to stop telling you the truth."

 Alison raises her eyebrows.

"Em... to be honest, I'm really confused," she sighs. "Last night was...  _great_."

The two of them smile at each other. 

"I have no complaints," Emily smirks faintly, squeezing the blonde's hands. "Why are you confused?"

" _Because_ , you went from wanting to talk about telling people about us to...  _that_ ," Alison explains, sighing. "I—I'm okay with that, but I just thought that you were determined to talk about it."

"And we  _will_ ," Emily assures her. "Just... not now, okay? Truth is, when I was out with yesterday, Spencer was talking about how she and Toby reconnected... and, the two of them took some time to themselves and figured out what they wanted before she came out to us and told us that they're together again. And it makes sense to me now. There's nothing wrong with just letting things happen."

"Okay," she nods her head, tilting it to the side.

 "Okay," Emily smiles.

"As long as  _you're_ okay with this," she raises her eyebrows.

"Trust me, I am," Emily says. She sighs again. "As much as I want to just burst out and tell everyone, I don't think it's such a good idea. You and I... we've never done  _this_ before, and it's—to be honest—pretty weird... and it's new. It's not exactly the simplest thing."

"Weird?" Alison questions.

"You know what I mean..." she shrugs her shoulders. "Ali, you know how I felt about you for a long time, and we never really talked about it. I didn't know if anything was real... and we just kept avoiding it, for longer than anyone should. Then suddenly, we talked about it, and here we are. We're doing  _this_. It's scary, if I'm being honest."

Alison sighs.

"I do know what you mean," the blonde nods her head.

"Good," Emily says, rubbing her thumb against Alison's hand. She looks up at the blonde longingly. "God... I don't wanna go to work today... at  _all_. It feels like it's a weekend!"

"Me neither!" Alison groans, making a face of frustration. "I just want to stay here, surprisingly... I normally try to get out of the house as much as I can. But right now, I really just wanna be here."

Emily bites her lip.

"I love being here with you," she says sincerely, bringing Alison's hand to her mouth and kissing it gently. "I really, really do."

"And I love having you here," Alison gushes. 

Emily's about to lean back in to kiss her, but stops herself.

"I'm gonna grab a shower upstairs if that's okay with you. I don't exactly feel so clean after last night."

"You are _such_ a tease, Em," Alison rolls her eyes playfully. "But, of course. I'll make you breakfast."

"You can always join me," Emily jokes lightheartedly. 

"Get out of here!" Alison laughs, shaking her head. "Don't start something you can't finish."

"I was just messing around," she chuckles. 

But Emily's heart is racing as she turns around and begins walking out of the kitchen. She can't say it aloud, but she wants to try different things. With the physicality of their relationship increasing, Emily can't help but think about it. She's supposed to look in the eyes of  _Alison DiLaurentis_ and tell her that she wants to try new things relating to sex? They never discuss what they do... they just do it. In all seriousness, she had been hoping that Alison would take her up on that shower offer. But maybe she was right. Starting  _that_ right before work probably wasn't the best idea.

* * *

Emily takes a deep breath as she sits down at her office desk. She really enjoys her job, but she can't focus after the perfect night she had with Alison. And she keeps thinking about how she wants more... something about it woke her sex drive up, and now she just can't stop. She tries to regain her focus as she opens her laptop and pulls up the swim team roster document that she's been working on. She still has only decided a few names for the varsity team, and she's got one more day to figure it out. She's supposed to post the roster on the gym room doors on Friday morning before school.

She hears a light knock and looks up from her laptop. Surprisingly, it's Paige. Emily didn't think that they were going to be talking very much after what happened.

"Come in," Emily tells her.

Paige purses her lips before entering the office.

"Hey..." she greets quietly, scratching her head.

"Hey, Paige," Emily acknowledges. "What is it?"

"Have you, uh... made any progress with the roster for the team?" Paige asks curiously as she takes steps towards Emily's desk.

"Some," Emily answers vaguely. "But not enough."

"What about Gabriella Humphrey on varsity?" Paige suggests.

Emily raises her eyebrows, " _Of course_ Gabriella Humphrey's on varsity. If anyone is truly qualified for varsity, it's her. She was the first person I placed."

"Oh," Paige nods her head. 

Emily sighs in frustration. 

"Paige, what are you doing?" Emily demands. 

"I was just trying to help with the decision," she furrows her eyebrows. "Is that a problem? Because I thought I was the assistant coach."

Emily rolls her eyes.

"I have no problem with you helping me figure out the roster, but you clearly have a problem with me after what happened with Alison—"

" _Don't_ bring her up!" Paige growls.

"Why? Why shouldn't I?" Emily demands. "I'm  _with_ her, Paige. She  _exists_. I'm not just going to pretend like she doesn't because of you."

"Did you just want to flaunt the fact that you two are hooking up again? You want to keep taunting me that badly?" Paige angrily asks.

"I'm not trying to do anything!" Emily cries. "I don't want things to be like this between us. You might not believe it, but you're still very important to me, okay? And I brought her up because that's clearly what the issue is here, and I thought that  _maybe_ we could talk about it."

"I've talked enough about her, and I think you know exactly how I feel. I'm not going to change what I think," Paige shakes her head.

"Well, think about what you're asking me to do, then!" Emily says in frustration. "You're asking me to turn off my feelings for someone because you don't like her. And I value our friendship, Paige, but not enough to change what  _I_ think. Plus, I was never asking you to make banners to celebrate us. All I was asking was for you to support me, even if you're not happy about it. To not stop being my friend just because you don't like the person I'm with. I wouldn't care if you dated someone that I don't like. All I would care about is that you're happy with her. And don't you get it? I'm  _happy_."

Paige stands there in silence. Her heart feels like a heavy weight. She feels like she's being pulled downwards. She hates the way this is making her feel, but she just  _can't_ support this thing with Alison. It breaks her heart in every way possible.

"I still have feelings for you, Emily..." Paige quietly says, clenching her fists to stop her tears. "You mean the world to me... and you don't even understand how badly it hurts to see you with  _her_ of all people. The worst person I know is with the best person I know. It's baffled me,  _constantly_ , ever since I found out."

Emily turns her head away, no longer looking at Paige.

"I'm not going to keep justifying why I'm with her. I get why you hate her, but she's not the same person... and that's all I can say," Emily shakes her head. She suddenly looks back up and asks, "What were you doing in her classroom, anyway?"

"I was looking for you. I wanted to know if she knew where you were," Paige shrugs her shoulders. "It was a mistake."

Emily decides not to push further.

"The kids are gonna start coming in soon. We should... get our things ready for class," Emily dismisses, reaching over to grab her clipboard.

"Yeah..." Paige mutters, turning around and walking out of Emily's office.

 


End file.
